New from Prudential: Level Term Life to Age 65

Millions of Americans have incorporated a healthy diet and physical fitness regimen into their weekly routine as a way of avoiding serious medical problems.

One of the benefits of such discipline is that these people will typically have access to lower health and life insurance premiums than some of their peers.

However, when it comes to living a long and healthy life, sometimes physical fitness and healthy eating are not enough. In fact, something as seemingly minor as food preparation can have fatal consequences, if not handled properly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides some data showing the dangers of food-borne illnesses that can come from almost any edible source, especially from produce, meat and poultry, dairy and eggs, and fish and shellfish.

It is estimated that roughly 1 in 6 Americans (or 48 million people) gets sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of food-borne illnesses each year.

According to the CDC, produce accounts for 46 percent of all food-borne illnesses resulting in sickness while meat and poultry accounts for 29 percent of all food-borne illness resulting in death.

The CDC has categorized the cause of food-borne illnesses into two groups – known food-borne pathogens and unspecified agents. Currently, there are 31 known pathogens that have been known to cause food-borne illness. Many are tracked by public health systems that track diseases and outbreaks.

Conversely, unspecified agents are not only difficult to track due to their chemical makeup but are also difficult to treat.

While relatively few people will die of food-borne illnesses this year, thousands will meet their end in any number of other ways, from accidents to disease. In light of this stark reality, a life insurance policy offers crucial protection to surviving loved ones.